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Government Accountability

Update: State Spending Transparency

• Elizabeth Stelle
• October 3, 2008

A reader emailed to ask if there are examples of states with online spending databases. Indeed states across the country are adopting transparency legislation while state officials and think tanks…

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Taxes & Economy

Are bailout proponents con artists?

• Nathan Benefield
• October 3, 2008

In addition to the rhetoric that we need a bailout now, or we will face a great depression (which has been debunked), bailout proponents are selling the idea…

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Health Care

Health care in US and Canada compared

• Nathan Benefield
• October 3, 2008

I doubt this will surprise regular readers of this blog, but Canada’s single payer health system isn’t all that Michael Moore makes it out to be. From a new…

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Taxes & Economy

How Government Stoked the Mania

• Nathan Benefield
• October 3, 2008

Great read in the Wall Street Journal on How Government Stoked the Mania, starting with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and later how the Community Reinvestment Act, and the…

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Health Care

RendellCare 3.0

• Nathan Benefield
• October 2, 2008

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has revised his proposal to increase government spending and eligibility for health insurance yet again. The latest edition has lowered the cost of the program…

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Health Care

McCain is Right on Interstate Health Insurance

• Nathan Benefield
• October 2, 2008

Merrill Matthews in the Wall Street Journal writes that John McCain’s plan to allow individuals and small businesses to buy insurance across state lines – a policy championed in…

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Government Accountability

Constitutional Convention in IL gets a boost

• Nathan Benefield
• October 2, 2008

The Illinois Constitutional Convention ballot question, discussed in a previous post, got a couple of boosts in the last week. First came news that the Cook County Assessor…

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Taxes & Economy

That’s our General Assembly

• Nathan Benefield
• October 2, 2008

With a budget deficit and possible tax increase looming, federal denial of I-80 tolling opening up a gap in transportation funding (and the Turnpike Commission borrowing against future…

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Taxes & Economy

Free market groups opposing bailout

• Nathan Benefield
• October 1, 2008

A coalition of 27 organizations, including the Commonwealth Foundation, have signed on to an open letter to US Senators put together by NTU in opposition to the $700…

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State Budget

PA Budget Deficit Growing

• Nathan Benefield
• October 1, 2008

The latest Pennsylvania Revenue Department report indicates that collections were $160 million below estimates in September, and $280 million below for the fiscal year which began in July.

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State Budget

Reduce Spending Now, or Increase Taxes Later

• October 1, 2008

$281 million budget shortfall puts taxpayers at risk  HARRISBURG, PA — The Commonwealth Foundation renewed its call for Governor Rendell and the General Assembly to take action to prevent a…

Press Release

Regulation

Convention Center no economic savior

• Nathan Benefield
• October 1, 2008

Post-Gazette looks at the failure of the $373 million Pittsburgh convention center to create an economic boom – or even to outdraw the old convention center (HT: Grassroots…

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Taxes & Economy

Not facing a Great Depression

• Nathan Benefield
• October 1, 2008

Here are a couple of good articles on the bailout (and the rhetoric in favor of it) by Cato scholars. Alan Reynolds writes that “saying we’re in for another…

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Taxes & Economy

Never mind the Commission behind the curtain

• September 30, 2008

Our news release today, What Will the General Assembly Do?, focuses on the need to consider the consequences of failing to act on the $12.8 billion bid to lease…

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Health Care

Converting Medicaid into Premium Assistance

• Nathan Benefield
• September 30, 2008

The Heritage Foundation has a new backgrounder (click here for PDF) on how states can convert Medicaid spending into premium assistance for insurance – a proposal which would…

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Health Care

Bailing Out Massachusetts

• Nathan Benefield
• September 30, 2008

The Foundry Blog of the Heritage Foundation has discovered that the federal government will “bail out” Massachusetts troubled health care plan (e.g. RomneyCare) with a $4.2 billion increase…

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What Will the General Assembly Do?

• September 30, 2008

Turnpike lease opportunity is going away HARRISBURG, PA—The $12.8 billion offer to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike will officially expire today at 5:00 p.m., unless Pennsylvania Transportation Partners (Abertis/CitiGroup) decide…

Press Release

Taxes & Economy

Root causes of the financial “crisis”

• Nathan Benefield
• September 30, 2008

I attended a conference late last week feature a number of economists, and was surprised to discover a great deal of disagreement about what caused the “crisis” in the financial…

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Government Accountability

Perzel’s Parking Authority

• Nathan Benefield
• September 30, 2008

Here is a funny video in which “Manatee” declares his desire to run the Philadelphia Parking Authority, so that he can work as little as possible, hire all his…

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Government Accountability

Failure of Reform: Who’s to Blame?

• Elizabeth Stelle
• September 30, 2008

Brad Bumsted in the Tribune-Review reports on the inability of the General Assembly to pass reform legislation this session. The Senate is blaming the House for failing to act…

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Taxes & Economy

Bailout Fails

• Nathan Benefield
• September 29, 2008

In case you missed it, the vote on the bailout failed. GrassrootsPA has the PA Delegation Bailout Vote. The Club for Growth blog has a lot more on…

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